Here! Now! Imperative: not to be avoided: necessary. In a typical week, the show will cover not only all the big news stories, but also the stories behind the stories, or some of the less crucial but equally intriguing things happening in the world.

Here! Now! Imperative: not to be avoided: necessary. In a typical week, the show will cover not only all the big news stories, but also the stories behind the stories, or some of the less crucial but equally intriguing things happening in the world.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012Early Ohio voting surges, especially in urban areasCuyahoga leads the state in both in-person and mail-in ballot requestsby WKSU's M.L. SCHULTZEThis story is part of a special series.

Web EditorM.L. Schultze

Some two dozen voters lined up outside the board of elections in Stark County to vote Oct. 2, and early voting statewide is running ahead of previous years.

Following a U. S. Supreme Court decision this week, Ohio has now established uniform hours for voting in person the weekend before the Nov. 6 election. But the early numbers indicate many voters weren’t waiting for the courts, boards of elections and Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to make up their minds. WKSU’s M.L. Schultze has more on the early numbers.

The fight over early voting in Ohio lasted more than a year, with fierce battles at the Statehouse and boards of elections and in the courts.

And despite concerns over voter suppression, the level of publicity surrounding those battles may account for a surge in early voting throughout the state.

Jane Platten is director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. She says 13,000 voters have shown up in person since early voting began on Oct. 2 about 2,500 ahead of four years ago.

She says mail-in absentee voting is surging as well.

“I think that the campaigns and the media have talked about early voting a lot more this year than they did in 2008, partially because of the uncertainty in terms of what the hours would be on the weekend, particularly the last weekend. But also, this early voting program has progressively become more popular sinc 2008.”

Statewide, about a third of voters cast their ballots early in 2008.

According to Secretary of State Husted’s office, nearly 18 percent of Ohio voters nearly 8 million voters already have requested absentee ballots or voted early. Cuyahoga leads in both types of early voting, followed by Franklin, Hamilton and Summit.